Part 1
In the previous chapter, we saw how we become part of the Kingdom of God.
We saw that Jesus is the Way.
Through Him, we become sons of God.
And, as children, we also become heirs.
This is not something we earn through our efforts.
It is something God gives us through Jesus.
But now the questions of the new life arise:
If I have become a citizen of the Kingdom, what does it mean to live as a citizen?
What has changed within me?
How does this new life work?
How does the Holy Spirit lead me?
And what does the life of a citizen of the Kingdom begin to look like?
The answers are not all learned in an instant.
But the beginning is this:
In Christ, we have received a new identity.
We have become children and heirs.
The Holy Spirit dwells in us.
And Jesus has given us authority in His name.
In this chapter, we will see what we have been given.
Then, in THE NEW LIFE, we will address one by one the questions that arise as we begin to live as citizens of the Kingdom.
YOU ARE ALREADY IN THE KINGDOM
When does a believer enter the Kingdom of God?
Only after he dies and goes to heaven?
The Bible tells us something extraordinary.
If you have accepted Jesus and have been born again, you are already a citizen of the Kingdom of God.
The moment you believed in Jesus and called upon His name, something more powerful happened than what you could see with your eyes.
Your belonging changed.
You passed from one kingdom to another.
Paul writes:
and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
Ephesians 2:6
Look at the tense in which it is written.
God raised us up with Christ.
And seated us with Him in the heavenly places.
The Word does not just say that God will do this one day.
It says that He has done it.
Paul also writes that the Father:
he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves
Colossians 1:13
Even here, look at the tense used.
He has delivered us.
He has conveyed us.
Not just:
He will deliver us one day.
But:
He has delivered us.
Not just:
He will convey us to the Kingdom one day.
But:
He has conveyed us into the Kingdom of His Son.
When you accept Jesus, you don't just receive a promise for the future.
God delivers you from the power of darkness and transfers you into the Kingdom of His Son.
Your citizenship changes right now.
From the power of darkness…
into the Kingdom of the Son.
From darkness…
into light.
From being a stranger…
into a son.
From outside the Kingdom…
into its citizen.
WHAT INHERITANCE DO WE HAVE?
When you become a son, you also become an heir.
Paul says:
And if we are children, we are also heirs: heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ.
Romans 8:17
So, if you are a child of God, you have an inheritance.
This inheritance does not come because you earned it.
It comes because you have become part of the family.
Jesus said it very simply:
Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.
Luke 12:32
Look at this word again:
To give you.
The Kingdom is something that the Father has been pleased to give us.
Therefore, we should no longer think of ourselves as people who are outside and trying to get in.
Through Jesus, we have become part of it.
But to live as citizens of the Kingdom, we must know what we have received.
WE MUST KNOW WHAT WE HAVE
When Paul wrote to the believers in Ephesus, he prayed that they would understand something very important:
…and that the eyes of your understanding may be enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe…
Ephesians 1:18–19
Why should the eyes of the mind be enlightened?
Because you can have something and not know that you have it.
You can have an inheritance and live as if you have nothing.
You can be given authority and not know how to exercise it.
Many people expect God to do something that the Word shows He has already done.
Therefore, the question is not always:
How can I persuade God to act?
The question we need to start asking is:
What has God said and how should I act in faith upon His Word?
Life in the Kingdom begins by believing what God has said and learning to live by it.
And this is precisely where we begin to understand one of the most important things given to us:
Authority.
WHAT IS AUTHORITY?
Authority is not the same as strength.
Think of a traffic policeman.
He raises his hand and an oncoming car stops.
The policeman does not have the physical strength to stop the car.
He is not stronger than it.
The car stops because an authority stands behind him.
He acts on behalf of an authority greater than himself.
This helps us understand what Jesus told the disciples:
Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you.
Luke 10:19
Jesus did not say:
Find more power.
He said:
I gave you authority.
And this is the difference.
It's not about how strong we are.
It's about the authority Jesus gives us.
This authority is not secret because God wants us to know it.
It becomes a “secret weapon” only when the enemy doesn't want us to understand what has been given to us.
That's why Paul prayed that the eyes of the believers' understanding would be enlightened.
So that they would know.
So that they would understand.
And so that they would not live as if they had received nothing.
WHERE DOES THIS AUTHORITY COME FROM?
To understand this, we must look again at what happened to Jesus.
Paul says that God raised Jesus from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places:
...above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body...
Ephesians 1:20–23
Look at this.
Jesus is above every principality.
Above every authority.
Above every power.
Above every dominion.
And above every name that can be named.
All things are put under His feet.
He is the Head.
And the Church is His Body.
THE CHURCH IS NOT A BUILDING
When the Bible speaks of the Church, it is not just talking about a building.
It's not the walls.
It's not the edifice.
The Church consists of people who have believed in Jesus.
Paul writes to believers:
Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually.
1 Corinthians 12:27
Jesus is the Head.
And we, together, are His Body.
We who have believed in Jesus.
We who have accepted Him.
We who have become sons of God.
Authority does not originate from us.
It comes from Jesus, the Head of the Body.
We do not act in our own name.
We act in His name.
THE NAME OF JESUS
Mark 16:17–18 says:
And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons… they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.
Mark 16:17–18
Look again:
In My name.
So, we do not act in our own name.
We act in the name of Jesus.
When you act in someone's name, you do not rely on your own authority.
You lean on the authority of the one who sent you.
Jesus gave the disciples authority and sent them in His name.
This is why the Name of Jesus has so much importance.
WHAT HAS CHANGED WITHIN ME?
But new life is not just about the authority we exercise.
It begins with what God has done within us.
The Bible speaks of our whole being:
Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Thessalonians 5:23
Spirit.
Soul.
And body.
New life starts from within and affects the entire way we live.
God had declared this earlier through the prophet Ezekiel:
I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you. I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes and carefully observe My ordinances.
Ezekiel 36:26–27
Look at this.
A new heart.
A new spirit.
And the Spirit of God within us.
It is not just an external change.
It is a change that begins within the person.
The Word also says:
But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him.
1 Corinthians 6:17
And:
Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
1 Corinthians 3:16
Our body becomes the temple of the Holy Spirit:
Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you.
1 Corinthians 6:19
So, new life is not just a new name or a new way of behaving.
God gives us a new heart.
The Holy Spirit dwells in us.
And we begin to learn to live from the inside out.
HOW DOES THE HOLY SPIRIT GUIDE US?
The Holy Spirit does not just come to dwell in us.
He guides us.
Paul writes:
For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.
Romans 8:14
Jesus also said:
But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all truth.
John 16:13
The Holy Spirit guides us into the truth.
He helps us to know what God has given us.
Paul writes:
Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.
1 Corinthians 2:12
The Holy Spirit helps us understand the Word of God and what God has given us in Christ.
But this does not mean that everything is learned immediately.
The new life is a walk.
A relationship.
An ongoing process of learning to know the Word, to listen to the Holy Spirit, and to obey His guidance.
WHAT DOES THE LIFE OF A CITIZEN LOOK LIKE?
The life of a citizen of the Kingdom is not seen only through the words he speaks.
It also begins to be seen in the fruit his life produces.
The Word says:
But the fruit of the Spirit is: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
Galatians 5:22–23
Love.
Joy.
Peace.
Patience.
Goodness.
Faithfulness.
Gentleness.
Self-control.
These are not a way to buy citizenship.
They are the fruit that begins to appear in the life of one who belongs to the Kingdom and walks with the Holy Spirit.
Jesus said:
But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
Matthew 6:33
The citizen of the Kingdom learns to put the Kingdom of God first.
Learns to seek the will of the King.
Learns to know His Word.
Learns to be led by the Holy Spirit.
And learns to exercise, in faith, the authority Jesus has given him.
BUT WE ALSO HAVE AN ADVERSARY
If we now understand that we have entered a Kingdom, that we have an inheritance, and that authority has been given to us, we must also understand something else.
We have an adversary.
The Bible says:
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the Devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
1 Peter 5:8
Therefore, we should not live in fear.
But neither should we be ignorant.
We need to know who we are and what has been given to us.
James says:
Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
James 4:7
Note the order:
Submit to God.
Resist the Devil.
And he will flee.
So, it's not about being afraid of the enemy.
It's about knowing whose authority you stand under.
And acting on what the Word of God has said.
AUTHORITY IS EXERCISED BY FAITH
It's not enough just to know that authority exists.
We must believe God's Word and act upon it.
Faith does not try to make God's Word true.
We accept as true what God has said and act upon it.
Authority is not exercised by pleading with the enemy.
James did not say:
Pray to God to resist the Devil for you.
He said:
Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
James 4:7
We submit to God.
We stand on His Word.
And we resist the enemy in the name of Jesus.
This is not faith in our own ability.
It is faith in the Authority of Jesus and in the Word He has given.
SHOULD YOU BE AFRAID?
Jesus said:
Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.
Luke 12:32
If the Father has given you the Kingdom, if you have become a son and heir, then you must learn to see yourself according to what God has said about you.
You are no longer who you once were.
You are no longer outside.
You have a King.
You have a family.
You have an inheritance.
The Holy Spirit dwells in you.
And you have the authority that Jesus has given you in His name.
Therefore Paul prays that our eyes may be enlightened.
Because the problem sometimes is not that God has not given us.
The problem is that we don't yet know what He has given us.
NOW DO YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU HAVE?
At first we asked:
What do I have now that I have become part of the Kingdom?
Now we have begun to see the answer.
You have received a new identity.
You have become a child of God.
As a child, you have become an heir.
You have passed from the power of darkness into the Kingdom of His Son.
God has given you a new heart.
The Holy Spirit dwells in you.
You are part of the Body of Christ.
And you must understand the authority that Jesus has given you in His name.
But knowing what you have received is just the beginning.
Now the questions of the new life arise:
What happens to my soul when I accept Jesus?
How does the Holy Spirit come to me?
How does the Holy Spirit begin to work in my life?
What are the first signs of new life?
How should I pray?
What is faith?
Are God's promises still valid?
Does God still heal today?
How can I receive God's peace?
How can I be freed from fear?
And how does the Word of God work in my life?
These questions do not require a single, long answer.
They should be taken one by one.
Simply.
Directly.
And always relying on the Word of God.
The ZBULO journey ends here.
But the new life has just begun.
Where you can continue
The journey ends here: the conclusion and new life.